Five IMPD officers charged over license plate reader misuse
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The gist
Five Indianapolis officers were charged on Sep 23, 2026 over license plate reader misuse.
The case may be the largest U.S. roundup of its kind.
Background
Internal audits at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in August and September 2026 found officers had misused automatic license plate reader (ALPR) technology, including Flock cameras. Chief Tanya Terry placed officers on desk duty, revoked their ALPR access, and recommended their termination. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office then filed charges against four suspended officers and one former officer. IMPD has since tightened ALPR rules, requiring users to sign a policy, include case or incident numbers and federal offense codes in searches, and undergo increased auditing.
How it unfolded
- 2023Jonathan Schultz allegedly met one of the women at a workout class; she later told police he had a 'weird obsession with her.'
- 2023 -2026Schultz made nearly 1,400 inappropriate searches, according to court documents.
- 2024 -04 to 2025-04Matthew Binford is accused of using another officer's account to search for his ex-wife's license plates more than 1,000 times.
- 2024 -12 to 2026-07Cassandra Crawley is accused of inappropriately performing more than 1,250 searches for eight license plates, five registered to other police vehicles.
- 2024 -12 to 2026-08Michael Rogers is accused of searching for his wife, one of her close friends, and his wife's suspected paramour more than 4,400 times.
- 2025Schultz allegedly searched for a woman he met at her workplace, began texting her, and reintroduced himself at a function months later.
- 2025 -07 to 2025-12Abigail Cramer is accused of searching her current wife's former spouse and that woman's family members and associates more than 400 times.
- 2026 -08 and 2026-09Internal audits at IMPD revealed misuse of automatic license plate reader technology.
- Aug 20, 2026IMPD announced an officer was suspended over Flock camera misuse.
- Sep 18, 2026IMPD announced officers were suspended without pay for improper use of automated license plate readers.
- Sep 23, 2026The Marion County Prosecutor's Office filed formal charges against five individuals: four suspended IMPD officers and one former officer face fraud and official misconduct charges, and one officer faces a stalking charge.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said ALPR is a powerful tool that must be used lawfully, and the alleged conduct is a gross misuse that undermines community trust in law enforcement.
- Official
- IMPD Chief Tanya Terry called the charges 'a deeply disheartening and disappointing day for IMPD,' saying the actions went beyond clerical error or policy violation and crossed into criminal conduct.
- Public
- Binford's ex-wife told investigators he 'demonstrated unusual knowledge of her whereabouts' during their separation and admitted to misusing the cameras when she asked.
- Public
- Cramer's ex-wife told investigators that 'odd things have occurred' and that she had received anonymous hate letters.
Still unverified
Schultz allegedly used the agency's 300 Flock cameras to track down multiple women, including his ex-wife, and then interacted with them based on their tracked movements; he allegedly left a note on a vehicle after searching her plate more than 170 times over three months; he allegedly tracked a dozen license plates, mostly belonging to women he did not know, and tried to interact with some victims. Rogers came forward to the department after being contacted by a journalist, according to court documents. Court documents do not specify Crawley's relationship to any of the people searched.